With a new season of “Arrested Development” just around the corner, Jason Bateman has figured that now would be the best time to mount his feature-length directorial debut with “Bad Words.” He’s already proving to have an eye for talent now that he’s cast excellent character actors Allison Janney and Philip Baker Hall.

The film, a 2011 Black List winner, will find Bateman leading the picture as well, playing a bitter thirtysomething who exploits a loophole to enter the children’s National Quill Spelling Bee championships.. Janney and Hall will play Dr. Bernice Deagan, the outraged director of the spelling bee organization and Dr. Bowman, the head of the spelling bee group, respectively.

Kathryn Hahn, Ben Falcone and Rohan Chandz have also joined the cast. Bateman looks to be shooting the film fairly quickly, with production starting in L.A. this week. We really like the talent being assembled here, and the concept sounds like one Bateman can really let loose with, so we’ll be eager to see what he turns out. [Deadline]